


A Spoonful of Sugar

by dauntless_shadowhuntery



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dogs, Eventual Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Work In Progress, cute little puppy - Freeform, mostly sabriel but there will be destiel i promise, yes i know it needs editing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-06 07:44:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3126557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dauntless_shadowhuntery/pseuds/dauntless_shadowhuntery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Gabriel breaks up with Kali, all he wants is a cute puppy to fill his days with joy. But when he goes to the adoption center to find the dog of his dreams, he also finds the man of his dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What's In a Name?

Gabriel was lonely. He had been lonely and fore lone for a week now, ever since Kali dumped his sorry ass. He allowed himself a period of mourning over the dead relationship (in which he spent eating candy on the couch watching various movies and TV shows on Netflix) before deciding to do something with his life. What exactly, he didn’t know.

He called Castiel for advice. “Get a dog, Gabriel, just don’t bother me,” he said after a brief period of discussion. That got Gabriel thinking. What better way to fill up his time than a dog? Didn’t couples that weren’t ready to have kids get a dog? So why shouldn’t he? 

So there he was, on a crisp November day, about to enter the local adoption center. He hadn’t decided what type of dog he should get, all he knew is that he wanted an energetic puppy that would distract him from his woe. And one that could be fed candy, just because. 

He opened the door. A bell dangled from above and an avalanche of dogs barking greeted him. The lobby was mostly empty, except for a mom and her kid, apparently with their newly adopted dog, and the worker assisting her in signing the paper. He couldn’t see their face, but he did see a muscular body hidden behind a yellow polo and longish brown hair. 

Soon enough, they were finished and the face rose from the papers. And sweet mother of God was he hot. His hair made him seem younger, but you could clearly see he was a man. He had a small smile, but even that seemed to light up the room like a ray of sunshine. 

I’d so adopt this puppy, he thought as he walked to the desk. But he’s more of a moose than anything. 

“Hey, how can I help you today?” said the moose-puppy-sunshine man. He smiled as he lifted his hand to shake Gabriel’s. Gabriel gladly took it. “I’m Sam, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Sam.” And boy, he meant it. 

“What are you here for?” he asked politely, wiping his hands on his green apron. 

“I’m looking to adopt. A dog, but a puppy is preferable.”

Sam’s smile grew wider. “That’s great! A few days ago someone dropped off a litter of labradoodle puppies, you wanna see ‘em?” 

“Of course!” Gabriel said, but he couldn’t really care less about the type of dog, as long as he actually got the fur ball. And after careful consideration, (or none at all), a date with Sam, that cute son of a bitch. That is, if he swung that way. (Always the struggle. Gabriel hoped he would.) 

Sam opened the door to let Gabriel on the other side of the desk and opened the door behind him. The door was basically a portal to dog world. All the dogs twirled and yapped in their cages (spacious, of course). They walked down the aisle until they finally reached a bigger cage that housed five absolutely adorable labradoodle puppies. All of them were the golden yellow color of their Labrador parent, with the exception of one chocolate brown pup, who seemed to be the most boisterous out of all of them. Once they caught sight of Gabriel and Sam, they launched themselves at the door, trying to get one of them to pet them. Gabriel would’ve melted on the spot, but he still had some dignity, and someone to impress. 

“They’ve all been checked, and they’re all perfectly healthy,” Sam said, and added with reluctance, “The adoption fee is $350. We have to cover a lot of stuff, since we’re no kill.” 

The place was no kill? That was a nice add on to the judging of Sam’s character. (So far he had a 5,800 out of 10.) 

“That’s it?”

“Yep,” Sam confirmed, nodding. 

Gabriel took a good, long look at the litter. There was no contest about which one he wanted. Brownie was the most energetic out of his siblings, a little like himself. (Or a whole lot.) 

“Great! I’ll take ol’ brown. Can I take him today?” Now that he was actually buying his dog, Gabriel realized he didn’t really plan it out. How do you even take care of a puppy? He was so unprepared… but he really did want to take him home. 

Sam chuckled. “First off, ol’ brown’s a girl. And yeah, you can take her home today. But you have to have a name ready. And the money. Sorry about that.” 

Gabriel was surprised at firs that ol’ brown was a girl, but he collected himself. Add a name to the growing list of problems. Never mind the money. He brought enough. Dear God, is this how couples feel when they first get pregnant? Gabriel thought, but then shook it out of his head. Why did he keep on making analogies to couples? May be because you and Kali were a couple a little over a week ago.... Gabriel mentally slapped himself. There was no time to dawdle about Kali when he had sex personified next to him and ready to give him a puppy. 

“Yeah, I have one ready…, and the money, too, actually,” Gabriel said. Regardless of name, he wanted to adopt the puppy already.  
He started running through a list of acceptable dog names that weren't pretentious as Sam took ol’ brown from her cage. He couldn’t think of any. 

“You want to hold her?” Sam asked, carefully holding ol’ brown. 

“Sure,” Gabriel said, but he was secretly panicking. Do dogs even like being held? 

Too late. Sam dropped the puppy in his arms. Their arms practically brushed, since Gabriel had a green jacket on. He swore he felt s soft current run through him. It was replaced by the warmth of ol’ brown, and then squirming. She squirmed to the left, then to the right. Gabriel didn’t know if it was normal. He asked Sam as they walked back to the desk, and he assured him that it was perfectly normal. 

“Puppies have a lot of energy, and it’s important for them to exercise to get it all out. But it’s best you hold her now.”

They reached the desk, and Sam started to pull out the papers and a pen. “All right, just fill out the necessary fields and you’re ready to go.” He handed the pen to Gabriel.

He positioned himself across Sam and took the pen. He filled out everything except the space where ol’ brown’s name was supposed to go. He hovered that area before starting to call out random words. 

Candy? No, that was the name of the stripper he hooked up with once. Chocolate? A little too obvious. It’s like naming your turtle green. Toffee? Pretentious. Sweetie? Condescending. 

No matter what, all he could come up with were sugary treats… wait a minute. Sugar. Sugar. 

“Sugar!” he said out loud, vigorously filling out the space. Sugar. Sure, it sounded a bit condescending, but it’s not like he could think of anything else. 

He was pretty sure Sam was giving him a weird look, but he didn’t care. He found a name for his dog. 

Now all he needed was the actual food and stuff. Oh crap. 

Gabriel gave the form and money to Sam, and in return he got a smile that made his insides all warm and tingly. (It was normal, alright?) 

“You have everything ready for…” he looked at the form, “Sugar?” 

Sugar already seemed to recognize that it was her name, since she turned to Sam. Gabriel petted her head. 

“To be honest… no,” Gabriel admitted. He had a feeling he shouldn’t lie about this. 

Sam raised his eyebrows. “No?”

Gabriel started to feel a bit exasperated and desperate, all at once. It was exactly that that made him say this: “Help me.” (He rarely ever said this.) 

Sam’s eyebrows went through the freaking roof. “With what, exactly?” 

Gabriel gestured to the now mildly squiggling Sugar. “This whole dog stuff. I thought I had it planned out but now that I have Sugar I realized that I don’t. I’m a mess, really. Please. You know this stuff better than I do.” He was downright pleading. 

Sam heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, but seemed to pity Gabriel. Or maybe he was… cute enough to make Sam consider him? Highly unlikely, but a person has to have a dream. 

“Alright. I’ll do it. Let me just wait until the next person comes to take over the shift.” 

Gabriel suppressed giving a fist bump to God. 

The door opened behind Gabriel jingled opened; he turned to find a pretty blond girl entering. 

“Hey, Jess, on time for once,” he heard Sam say. 

“I’ll say,” she said. “Who’s this?” 

Gabriel held out his hand that wasn’t holding Sugar. “Gabriel Novak, esteemed costumer.” He gave her what Anna called ‘The Trickster smile’. She smiled and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” 

“Ready to go, Gabel?” he heard Sam behind him. He appeared next to him, a tan-ish jacket over the polo. It scarcely reminded him of Castiel’s horrendous trench coat. When would his little brother learn to dress normally? 

He gave a genuine smile to Sam, though. “Thank you.” 

Sam smiled back. “No problem.” To Jess: “Good luck with your shift.”

Jess cocked her eyebrow as she looked at Sam and Gabriel, but shrugged it off and walked past them with a polite smile. 

Gabriel looked at Sam with a question in his eyes, but Sam seemed like he didn’t notice. He shrugged and started for the door, expecting Gabriel to follow. “First stop: Pet Supermarket!”


	2. Fist Bump to God

They bought the collar and leash before anything else. Gabriel had started to complain about carrying Sugar everywhere, even though it drew in the attention of various cute ladies. (Which advances he ignored. But hey, he could admire a face.) 

They spent at least ten minutes on the engraving machine because Gabriel couldn’t decide between a heart shaped tag or a circle shaped tag that matched the red. It appeared that Gabriel’s fear over adopting Sugar was somewhat gone; he was already spoiling the little labradoodle. 

“Gabe,” huffed Sam, who was holding Sugar, “would you please just pick the tag. There’s a person behind you.” Said person assured Sam that he could wait, it was no trouble, and Sam assured him that Gabriel would finish soon. 

“Or else,” Sam seemed to threaten, but while holding Sugar he probably looked about as threatening as Sugar herself. 

Gabriel chuckled and decided that the circle tag would fit the best. He filled in the necessary credentials and turned to Sam, jingling the tag. 

Sam rolled his eyes as Gabriel clicked the collar on to Sugar’s neck, then attaching the leash. Sam set her down on the floor, where she immediately started to explore how far she could go. Gabriel was tugged a bit forward by surprise, nut he pulled her back. “Easy, girl…” 

The hot piece of sunshine let out a sort of laugh and started walking to where the food was. This part was easy, as Sam knew which food was the best. He was commenting on how he should maintain Sugar’s diet, but he wasn’t really paying attention to what Sam was saying rather than to Sam himself. He was really into his speech about the diet of labradoodles. And he did have a fine piece of ass. Gabriel was sure Sam could reteach him again.

Gabriel trailed off to where the dog beds were, trying to check that off his list. Sugar sniffed at a fluffy brown bed, so Gabriel snatched it and walked back to Sam. He was still debating whether the price of Blue Buffalo was worth the health benefits. 

“Damn it Sam, I’ll just buy it,” Gabriel interrupted. They were going to go nowhere if he kept on babbling. 

“But-“Sam tried to protest, but Gabriel held up a hand. (And to be honest, he was surprised Sam actually shut up.) 

Sam huffed a little in defeat, but bent down to grab the bag of Blue Buffalo. Gabriel tried not to stare at his ass. 

“What’s next?” he asked. 

“Well, we already got the food and bowls, and I see you got the bed, so umm, toys, I guess.” Sugar let out a little yap, as if agreeing that it was the best option.  
By the end of the trip, Gabriel had bought around ten individual toys and three pouches worth of treats. Sam protested to that, though. 

“She doesn’t need another treat, Gabriel!” 

“I know what kind of treat I want,” he muttered, looking at the back of the package. 

“Wait, what?” Gabriel whirled his head and saw Sam blushing a nice shade of red. 

He coughed and corrected his statement to: “Sugar probably wants more treats.”

Sam didn’t look convinced, though. 

Both of them had their arms full of supplies, but Gabriel considerably less since he was holding Sugar. The labradoodle was pulling at the leash, and Gabriel was pulling her back. Sam reminded him not to do it that hard. 

It was a nice day in Stanford, California, so the short walk to Gabriel’s modest apartment was refreshing. In Gabriel’s imagination, he and Sam were taking this walk, and then a… rather kinky night afterwards. But it was still a fantasy. Because first, he didn’t even know if Sam liked men. And second, he knew he wanted more than a one night stand. He liked being in a relationship. Almost always guaranteed sex! 

Yet was more than that, too. But Gabriel didn’t like to dwell on the sentimental.  
They reached his apartment, and he hooked Sugar’s leash to the doorknob so he could get his keys. Once he managed to do so and open the door, he nudged it wider with his foot and walked in. “Welcome home, Sugar,” he murmured, paying attention to how Sugar barged in and started to sniff everything. 

Sam set the stuff he was carrying on the coffee table and wiped his hands on his pants. “Well, umm, I guess I’ll go then.”

Gabriel felt a flutter of panic at the pit of his stomach, but he suppressed it. “No, wait!”  
Sam raised his eyebrows, and Gabriel took this as a sign to continue. “Why don’t you stay for a little while? I’m really thankful for the help you’ve given me, really, but I think I need a little push in the right direction. And I really didn’t pay attention to your lecture, so…enlighten me?” He ended with a salacious wink. 

Sam laughed, but tied covering it up with a cough. A small smile stayed on his face, though. “Well, thanks for paying attention. But yeah, I guess I can stay.”  
Gabriel sent a mental fist bump to God. 

So Sam did end up staying for a while more, and explained what was supposed to be Sugar’s diet again. Gabriel paid equal attention to what Sam was saying and how perfect his lips looked. Damn.  
Gabriel didn’t want Sam to leave yet, though. So when they sat on the couch, he started the small talk, which he sucked at. 

“So…how’d you end up working at the adoption center?” he started off, something to start a conversation but not too personal. 

“Well, I got a full ride from Stanford,” a pause since Gabriel mentally flipped out and it must have shown on his face. Sam was the whole friggin’ package. Sexy and smart. “And I wanted to make some money on the side. My best friend, Jess, worked there already and gave a recommendation to the head there, so here I am.” 

“Impressive,” Gabriel admitted. He wanted to add: totally freaking hot let’s have sex. “So what year are you in?” (Just in case. Add that to the list of things preventing him from asking Sam out.)

“I’m in my senior year, and I’m graduating in late May,” Sam said, and he sighed in relief. Gabriel himself graduated a little over a year ago, so they weren’t that far apart in age. 

“What about you?” Sam asked in return.

“I didn’t really go to college, since I work in a small office as a messenger.” Gabriel shrugged. “It pays well, I guess.”

Sam looked at him in concern. “Gabriel, you should really get a degree—“

“Sam, really, I’m fine. I like where I work.” Wow. That got way too touchy feely for him.  
Sam nodded, but he still looked disapproving. Just about then, Sugar started yapping at them. Gabriel picked her up and started petting her. 

Sam smiled a little tightly, and started to stand up. “I really should be going. It’s almost nightfall.” 

Gabriel checked out the relatively small balcony door, and saw that Sam was right. He knew he ran out of time, and there was nothing he could try to make Sam stay. 

But was there something he could do to make Sam come back again? What was something that could be totally platonic but could double as a date?

“Want to watch a movie to me?” Gabriel blurted out. Stupid, stupid, stupid…but genius. A movie was perfect. 

The taller man looked totally taken by surprise. The first thing that came out: “What if you’re a serial killer?” 

Gabriel actually laughed at that. “Sam, what serial killer would adopt a puppy?”  
Sam laughed along. “I don’t know man, you caught me off guard. So it’s a date?” He raised one eyebrow. 

Gabriel decided to flirt, if that was what Sam was trying to do. “Only if you want it to be.”  
“Then it’s a date.” 

Gabriel’s heart started tap dancing. Yes! He dug men, and he was single! This was going exactly the way he wanted it to go. 

He got up from the couch and reached for his phone, but left Sugar on the couch. He had almost forgotten about the labradoodle. She let out a pitiful whimper, and Gabriel quickly petted her head. 

He and Sam exchanged numbers, and Gabriel promised to pick the movie. 

“See you there,” Gabriel said, unable to wipe the smile off his face. He didn’t expect this to happen next. 

Sam leaned down and gave him a chaste kiss to the lips. 

It was only a brush, really, but it was enough for Gabriel to feel like his soul was lighting on fire. 

The giver of the kiss gave a side smile, and said “See you.” He turned and left. 

Gabriel slumped on the couch, smiling even wider. Sugar pawed at Gabriel’s hand, and he took her up in his arm and gave her a small hug. Some people might say that they were going too fast, but hey, Romeo and Juliet got married under forty eight hours. 

“Now what the hell should we watch?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and the kudos! I'm glad you all liked it. (But I'm assuming you like it...)
> 
> As always, thank you for checking this out, and stay awesome.


	3. It Couldn't Have Been Better

After searching through Fandango's website for a suitable movie, he settled for an action flick, and texted Sam as such. Those were always fun.

The problem was, now, that he had no idea who would take care of Sugar. They had barely spent a day together and he was already leaving her. He was such a great person.

He thought of his friends and co-workers. Maybe Samandriel would be able to. He was a nervous guy, but he meant well. Gabriel phoned him. 

"Hello, Mr. Novak! How are you doing?" Samandriel chirped on the other line.

"Please, Alfie, Mr. Novak is my dad. It's Gabriel. Are you free right now?" Gabriel asked without preamble.

"Of course, Mr....Gabriel. What do you need?"

"Emm, I just adopted a dog, but I'm going on a date soon, so can you look after her for a couple of hours?" Gabriel crossed his fingers.

"Yeah, sure! Let me give you my address..." Gabriel snatched a conveniently placed paper and pen and wrote down his address.

"Thank you so much, Alfie. I'll be there by seven or so with her stuff. Thanks again."

"No problem, Mr...Gabriel, sorry. I look forward to seeing her!" They bid their farewell and hung up.

All that while, Sugar was contentedly snuggled against Gabriel's leg, practically asleep. He affectionately stroked her head. She was just too fricking cute.

Gently, he nudged her so that she wouldn't be that startled as he stood up. She stayed curled up on the couch, where he proceeded to take a picture on his phone and put it as his wallpaper.

He gathered the necessary things to take Sugar to Samandriel and put them beside the couch. Content with this, he turned to take a shower.

Picking what he should wear was the hardest thing he could imagine. He didn't want to look too informal, but he wasn't going to wear a damn suit. He settled for jeans, shirt, and his usual green jacket.

Gabriel heard barking outside his bedroom door. Curious to see what Sugar, he opened it. She nudged her way on and started exploring the bedroom without further concern. Of course she would. But Gabriel was in the best mood ever, so he didn't really care.  
It was six, and the movie was at eight. While Samandriel's house wasn't that far away, but he would still need time to prepare.

He managed to stuff all of Sugar's in an overnight bag. Smiling in triumph, he clipped the leash on Sugar's collar. She lazily walked around Gabriel's legs, and he sidestepped so the leash wouldn't tangle.

Gabriel lifted the bag and made his way to leave the apartment.

~~~

Samandriel greeted Sugar with open arms, and Sugar cranked up her cuteness for the new person. Gabriel grew just a little bit jealous.

"Don't worry, Mr. Novak. I mean Gabriel. I'll take good care of her."

"I'm sure you will, Alfie," he said, glancing at his watch. 7:32. it would take ten minutes to walk to the theater, where Sam would probably already be there and seeing how he shouldn't have gone out with Gabriel. “I should get going, but thanks for the help. I… really appreciate it.”

Samandriel picked up Sugar. “It’s really no trouble, I love puppies! You go have a great time.”

Gabriel nodded gratefully. “Thank you.” 

~~~

It turned out that Sam ended up waiting for him. Gabriel mentally smacked himself, because he wanted to be the one waiting for Sam.   
“Hey,” the moose man greeted once he saw Gabriel. 

“Hey yourself,” he replied. “Ready to go?”

Sam nodded, and gestured with his hands that Gabriel should lead. 

It was a vintage looking theater, with the ticket booth outside and old movie posters lining the walls. Not to mention Gabriel’s favorite part: the concession stand. He always got a ridiculous amount of candy. 

Sam complained about that. “You’re going to get cavities.” 

“Nonsense!” he said, while adding a box of Twizzlers. “I’ve never gotten a cavity.” (This was actually true, to the astonishment of his dentist.)   
Sam rolled his eyes, and Gabriel snickered (while popping a mini Snickers bar in his mouth). 

There were a couple of people in the theater, mostly adults. Sam and Gabriel sat almost right in the middle. 

“Want some?” Gabriel asked, gesturing to one box of Twizzlers. 

“Sorry, no. I hate licorice.” But Sam took the box anyways. “My brother, Dean, told me he might come for Thanksgiving, and he loves licorice,” he explained. 

Gabriel sighed dramatically, giving up the box of Twizzlers. But it was a small triumph: he learned that Sam had a brother. He was getting to know him. 

A few minutes and a feast of candy later, the commercials began, and then the movie. Gabriel normally would have eaten all the candy by himself, even if he was with another person. But Sam was an exception. Gabriel continually offered candy to Sam, and sometimes be even took them. It made Gabriel’s stomach flutter involuntarily. 

The movie itself, though, was slow. Sure, it would pick up any second, but Gabriel’s eyelids were closing. With the dark lighting and Sam’s warmth next to him, he was slowly falling…

Asleep. 

~~~

“Gabe. Gabe. Gabriel. Wake up,” he heard Sam say, though it took him a while to register. He was leaning his head on Sam’s shoulder, and Sam was gently moving Gabriel’s arm. Gabriel moved his head away and rubbed the back of his neck. When did he knock out?

“You fell asleep about twenty minutes into the movie,” Sam said, as if he guessed what Gabriel was asking. 

The full impact of what happened hit him. He had fallen asleep on their first date. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. 

“I’m so sorry, Sam, I—“ 

“Don’t worry about it, Gabe. The movie was kind of boring anyways.” He smiled at him, and Gabriel smiled back. A real smile. 

~~~

Gabriel and Sam casually strolled back towards Gabriel’s apartment. It was almost like the fantasy that Gabriel thought of earlier in the day, but he knew that it wouldn’t end like he wanted to. Maybe one day. 

Sam was explaining how the movie went before Gabriel passed out, and he was trying to look interested. Now, Gabriel didn’t know why he picked that movie. It still sounded boring. But the way Sam was explaining it, made it all the more attention-grabbing. 

Unfortunately, they made it to Gabriel’s apartment. 

“Well, I guess this is it,” Sam shrugged. Maybe Gabriel was imagining it, but did Sam looked disappointed?

“Yeah,” Gabriel nodded mournfully. Before he could get even more upset, he blurted: “When can I see you again?” 

Sam seemed surprised. “Umm, well, let me see. Today’s Tuesday, right?”

Gabriel nodded in affirmation. 

Sam started to explain his schedule: he went to school Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, until three. When he wasn’t at school he worked at the adoption center until four. He had Saturdays and Sundays off. 

“So…. Saturday?” Gabriel asked, unsure how he should phrase the question. 

Sam smiled. “Yeah, that sounds great. Friday, text me the details?” 

“Of course, yeah. I can do that. I’ll figure out what we’ll do. See you, I guess.” 

“Well, uh, bye, then.” Sam waved goodbye, and started turning away. 

Gabriel got that panic again, and a little voice told him to get Sam back. That goodbye was way too award. 

“Sam, wait!” he practically ran to Sam. 

Stunned, Sam spun around and got an armful of Gabriel. He wrapped his hand on Sam’s head and grabbed Sam’s jacket. Sam enveloped Gabriel with his big, strong, moose arms. Their faces were so close together Gabriel could feel Sam’s breath fan across his mouth; without further explanation, Gabriel closed the distance.   
Sam’s lips were just as he remembered. He couldn’t really forget how they felt the first time. But it wasn’t just a brush of lips, this was an actual kiss. Sam returned Gabriel’s fervor, tightening his arms around Gabriel, making him groan. He felt a tongue swipe across his mouth, and Gabriel opened his mouth. He had been practically dreaming about this, even though they had met almost less than twenty four hours ago. He didn’t care. 

Sam broke off the make out session with a huff, but didn’t pull away. “Winchester.” 

Gabriel took his hand off Sam’s head, instead placing it on Sam’s jacket. “What?”

“My last name. I realized I didn’t give it to you. It’s Winchester.”

Gabriel laughed a little. “Well, hey, Sam Winchester. I’m Gabriel Novak.” 

~~~

“Did you have a fun time, Mr. Novak?” Samandriel asked, handing Gabriel the overnight bag filled with Sugar’s stuff, and then the leash which was connected to the sleepy labradoodle. 

Gabriel was too happy to correct him. “It couldn’t have been better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I wanted to say a few things for this chapter...
> 
> I didn't say a specific title of a movie so the story could be timeless in its own way, you know? Like, it could be an action movie from 2004 or 2014. Timeless. 
> 
> And I don't really know how an average law student's schedule is like, I took my best guess. *Don't eat me*
> 
> But as always, thank you for reading, for deciding this was worth your time. I cannot express my gratitude. Stay awesome. 


	4. The Classic Date

Gabriel spent the rest of the week until Friday in a mix of house training Sugar, and trying to find a nice restaurant for his date with Sam on Saturday.

Sugar was a smart dog. And stubborn as hell. But she seemed more approachable to learning if there were treats involved. Of course. He knew a lot more work would be needed, but he was willing. 

On the other hand, Gabriel had work. He had a similar schedule to Sam's: working on the weekdays and taking the weekends off. But he also took Tuesday off, not only so he could take some time off from the Monday rush, but also because his favorite show was on that day.

Wednesday, he was in a constant state of elation. Nothing could bring him down. Not even the load of papers that greeted him at his desk for him to deliver.

"Get it done," warned his boss, Raphael.

To be quite honest, Gabriel didn't even know what the company did. Castiel had given him the job when the last company Gabriel worked for fired him. That was when both of them lived in New York. But the company moved him to their Stanford location.

He made his rounds to each cubicle. Samandriel asked how Sugar was, to which he said a brief: "Pretty good."

His last stop was Chuck Shurley's cubicle. Chuck was an aspiring writer, but he hadn't managed to land a publisher. So he stayed.

Chuck was an okay guy, but he had a tendency to call his coworkers "son". It was without fail.

"Thanks, son," Chuck mumbled, jotting down notes with fervor. Probably an idea for another book. Gabriel stopped trying to correct him. (But maybe he could help Samandriel stop calling him Mr. Novak.)

Thursday was the same, but he realized that he didn't have a place for the date yet, and he was leaving Sugar again. Gabriel was a remarkable person.

Gabriel tried Samandriel again, and this time came with money. He was repaying the favor, and apologizing in a way. "Hey, Alfie, I know this is too much to ask, but can you look after Sugar Saturday night? Another date," Gabriel said, popping by Samandriel's cubicle. "I'll pay you five bucks an hour," he added as an afterthought.

“You don’t need to--”

“I insist,” Gabriel pressured. “If you say yes, of course.”

“My answer is always yes, Mr.Novak.”

Gabriel gave him an earnest smile before correcting him again. 

Friday, Gabriel decided to bring Sugar with him to work. He could tell she was starting to get lonely, and in all honesty, he missed her, too. He was just hoping that Raphael wouldn’t mind. 

Several of his coworkers were awed that Gabriel had been so bold. 

“You’re really getting it this time,” Rachel said, peering over her cubicle. Rachel had become something of a friend, since their cubicles were adjoining. 

“I would report you but it’s cute,” said Naomi, bending over to briefly pet Sugar’s head. 

And then came in the man of the hour: Raphael. This is it. I might as well start packing. Is it too soon to move in with Sam? Maybe bringing Sugar wasn’t such a good idea...

“What in…?” he began to say, but he looked into Sugar’s adoring gaze. She was currently sitting in Gabriel’s lap as he pet her back. He gathered the strength to explain himself and think of a good reason why he shouldn’t be fired, but was cut off by an impossibly girly scream coming from Raphael. Gabriel saw him slightly bend down to Sugar’s level and pet her head. 

Gabriel heard a stifled laugh come from where Rachel would be; sure enough she was peering over the divider, hand over mouth. He mouthed ‘help me’. Rachel only shrugged. 

Gabriel felt Sugar being lifted from his lap, where she now rested in Raphael’s arms. Scarily enough, he was smiling. Gabriel suppressed the urge to scream. 

“She’s just so cute, why didn’t you bring her sooner?” Raphael said, taking Gabriel by surprise. 

“I got her on Tuesday?” he finally managed. 

“Should’ve brought her sooner. The office seems brighter, don’t you think?”

“I guess…?”

“Well, as long as you do your work, you can bring her in whenever you want. See you, little pup!” Raphael set Sugar down on the floor, left the papers gabriel was supposed to deliver, and walked away. 

Rachel giggled a little before exclaiming, “Well, that was something!”

~~~

That afternoon Gabriel spent searching for a nice restaurant. He settled for the cute Italian restaurant nearby, Vargas & Family. After placing a reservation, he slumped on his couch and thought about the past week. And about Sam. 

Gabriel was never one for slow relationships. He almost never committed long term. He thought he had found something in Kali, but she had dumped him. In that week, no matter how he tried to deny it, he always came back to one thought: Is there something wrong with me? But he buried that fear down deep, making sure it would never see the light of day again. Sam was that light, and he wouldn’t let that fear tarnish what could be. 

That thought made Gabriel go back a few steps. Yes, he was a fast person. It showed in his work, his speech, and in the way he loved. He either fell hard and fast or not at all. Kali was one such example. He remembered the day he met her, how he thought he would never love another. 

Stop thinking about her. 

Most people guard their hearts after a breakup, but Gabriel was already clinging to Sam. He had technically only known him for a day, but he already felt that much. And it scared him. 

What if he doesn’t like me like that? But the kiss. That had to mean something. It had to. 

You’re thinking too much. 

Gabriel flipped on the TV. Introspective time over. 

~~~

Saturday, and Gabriel hastily texted the details of the date to Sam. He forgot to do that yesterday. 

7:30, Vargas’s, meet me outside. wear something nice

He thought that would cover it. 

Gabriel found a nice long sleeved dress shirt and (ironically) a rainbow bow tie. Surprisingly, the two pieces went well together. 

~~~

7:25, and Gabriel was outside of Vargas’s & Family. Sam would be there any minute. Gabriel spent it playing around with his phone, doing nothing in particular. 

“Gabriel!” a voice interrupted, and Gabriel was overjoyed to see Sam’s gigantoid form walking over. 

“Sam,” Gabriel greeted in returned, and opened his arms in a gesture that screamed ‘hug me!’ Sam gratefully did so, and he lingered for a while longer than what was normally friendly. Gabriel felt a chill shoot up his spine. 

“What are we waiting for?” Sam said with an easy smile. Gabriel led the way inside. 

~~~

After sitting down at their table and placing their orders, they began to talk. And really talk, not just meaningless chatter. They talked about their families, high school, friends. 

Sam’s mother Mary died in a house fire when he was a baby. His father John never went into a depression, so his older brother, Dean, was the one who raised him. (Gabriel remembered that Dean liked licorice.) They moved from place to place, never really settling on one house. All through that, Sam maintained high grades. From the college fairs that he attended, he liked Stanford the best, so it became his “dream school.” And he got in. He never looked back. 

Dean got a job with the FBI doing God knows what, not even Sam asked, with his unit. He sometimes visits Sam. He would also be spending Thanksgiving with Sam that year. 

All the while, Gabriel was holding Sam’s hand over the table. At one point, it was there, and Gabriel took it. He didn’t even notice. 

“So, what’s your story?” Sam asked in return. 

Gabriel was reluctant, but Sam just spilt out his sob story, so he might as well do the same. 

Gabriel came from a big family in suburban New York: his two elder brothers Michael and Lucifer, and his younger siblings Anna and Castiel. Their mother left after Castiel. She left a note, saying how she couldn’t deal with that many children. Their father then became distant, and Michael took charge. Lucifer wrecked havoc (Gabriel couldn’t even remember why), Gabriel played pranks, and Anna looked after Castiel. 

Eventually, when they reached eighteen, everyone fled. Gabriel went to the community college, since he couldn’t go anywhere else. He had slacked off in school and barely passed. He dropped out before senior year. He couldn’t find a job, and wandered from motel to club to bar. One day, he bumped into Castiel. (Long story short, Castiel got him a job, he got fired, yada yada yada.) He then ended up in Stanford, California. 

“And I met you,” Gabriel finished. 

Their food arrived, served by a peppy Italian with auburn hair. His cheery demeanor lifted the slightly dark mood that settled over the table. Well, at least they got through most of the baggage. 

From there, they talked about normal life. Small talk, but a little bit deeper. Favorite movie, book, candy (Sam insisted they skip that one), football team, the works. Gabriel kept the conversation light with his humor; that was something he was good at. Sam had the cutest expression when he laughed, it wasn’t like anything else. 

Gabriel ordered some wine for the heck of it. Several glasses later, he did something incredibly stupid. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” 

Sam was drinking water, and he spit it back into the glass. He gave a nervous laugh. “I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s nothing, really! I’m just, eh, tipsy. Heh.” Gabriel felt his cheeks heating up. 

“Do I want to be your boyfriend?”  
“I never said that!” Curse Gabriel and his big, fat mouth. 

“I’m pretty sure I heard you say that.” 

“Well…”

“Yes.”

Gabriel swore the world stopped. He gulped. “What?”

“I’ll admit it, I do. Want to be your boyfriend. Even though I’ve only known you for a short time, I really, really like you. And I want to see you more. You get me?” 

He couldn’t help but laugh. Gabriel reached his hand over the table, and Sam took it. 

“God, yes. Let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yay, they're officially dating! 
> 
> I'm so sorry for not updating. I grew unmotivated to write. But thanks to my friend, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed it!


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